How Did King Charles Propose to Camilla?

In February 2005, 35 years after they first met, then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles got engaged. The news came over a decade after the scandal of their extramarital affair rocked the royal family and following years of work on both of their parts to legitimize their relationship in the wake of their mutual divorces and the death of the late Princess Diana. Charles's proposal features in one of the final episodes of The Crown, but how true is the depiction to his real life proposal?

In the show, Charles rushes to the greenhouse, where the plant-loving Camilla is busy potting. Though his words are indistinct, Charles is shown going down on one knee, and then the couple happily embraces.

The scene, actor Dominic West (who plays Charles on the show) revealed to T&C, was the idea of Olivia Williams, who portrays Camilla. But as for whether it bears any resemblance to Charles's real proposal, the simple truth is that we don't know for certain.

Though the royal couple's relationship has been much in the public eye, they've never disclosed much about how Charles asked Camilla to marry him. At the time that the news was announced, Camilla confirmed to The Telegraph that Charles did get on one knee to pop the question, answering the question of his kneeling with "Of course. What else?"

After the engagement was announced, Camilla debuted a platinum engagement ring with a five-carat emerald-cut diamond and baguettes along the side in an Art Deco design. The piece is believed to have come from the Queen Mother's collection—she was seen wearing the ring in the 1980s—though its origins prior to that are unclear.

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